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~ search tool for open access content

Blinklist, a new non-fiction book summary service. I tried the timely Spillover (scientific look at the history and future trajectory of plagues), and got a clear and well structured 4,800 word summary.

The free trial lasts for three days, then it’s $5 a month for a three-month lock-in. I noted:

* You can’t use their save-to-Kindle button, except via the paid version. * No RSS feed, to alert you to newly added books. * A moderate amount of dubious bestseller fluff (Jared Diamond, Naomi Klein, Malcolm Gladwell, etc). * Currently only 40 new books added per month. * Strong in ‘the latest business buzz’ and popular science books. * A very noticeable liberal/leftist bias in selection. * Really ugly line breaks on the text of the website’s catalogue cards. * No spoken-word versions of the summaries. * No rider that similarly digests and impartially evaluates all the pertinent criticisms of the book, from the various reviews.

But it’s certainly an interesting business model, and delivers what it promises.